The Black Horse Woburn Review
The Black Horse
Woburn
Reviewed by Angela & Howard Davis
We visited the Black Horse on a Saturday night & as we walked through the village we expected it to be as quiet as several other pubs & restaurants that we passed, but were amazed as we walked through the door to find the place buzzing with noise, which is always a good sign, it means that we’d walked into a popular place.
We were shown straight to our table, although we could have had a drink at the bar first if we’d chosen to. All the staff were helpful & friendly although they were very busy, but that didn’t reflect in their cheerfulness & efficiency.
The new autumn menu had just been introduced a few days earlier & they also had a specials board to choose from. Unfortunately one of the items we chose was sold out, but that shows the ingredients are bought in fresh & the chef has a good idea of what is popular & will appeal to customers. There was a good balance of dishes for starters and main course, the salmon cured with lime & gin was just as unusual as it sounds but absolutely delicious & beautifully served with crispy toast & a dill Chantilly which complimented the salmon very well. The other starter, Caesar salad was served with chicken, bacon, anchovy & parmesan and was also very appetising, and along with several other dishes you can chose to have this as either a starter or as a light main course which is excellent for those with a smaller appetite.
For the main course we chose a very delicious mushroom & goat’s cheese lasagne. Although lasagne is a popular dish for vegetarians, this was a dish with an unusual twist & was a subtle blend of tastes with plenty of meaty wild mushrooms & not overpowered by too much of the rich goats cheese, and served with a fresh salad and a shallot & garlic puree, which had an unusual almost sweet taste. The second dish was a sirloin steak served on a wooden platter with hand cut skinny chips, pieces of corn on the cob, side salad & salsa. The steak, although medium to well done, was tender & juicy, which reflects the expertise of the chef & the staff in the kitchen, when so often steak is overcooked & dry, this was delicious & moist.
The desserts we chose were a Berry Bakewell which was served with cherry ice cream, & Chocolate mocha pot served with a white chocolate biscuit. The Bakewell was rich & buttery, and the mocha pot light & soft. The only thing that we thought was missing from the menu was another light fruit based dessert, the only one was an apple & cranberry jelly with orange sorbet, but that didn’t really appeal & after eating 2 good first courses a fruit crumble would have been a bit heavy.
The one small thing that was a problem is the lack of parking. You have to park either in the village car park or try to find a space on the road. With leaving your car at either of these you have to walk on badly lit footpaths which aren’t particularly well maintained, obviously not the fault of the restaurant of course.
For more information or to book a table visit www.blackhorsewoburn.co.uk